{October 31st, 2012} by Ryan Parker

Here are two ways to make a suitable and successful annuity sale. By Ryan Parker October 25, 2012 • By this point in time, chances are you know the long and agonizing story of producer Glenn Neasham better than every nursery rhyme you’ve ever heard, and you’ve probably even tired of his name. After the […]

{October 31st, 2012} by Warren S. Hersch

By Warren S. Hersch October 23, 2012 • Income earned from the sale of annuities at bank holding companies in the first half of 2012 hit $1.58 billion, up 3.4% over $1.53 billion earned in first half 2011, new research reveals. The “Michael White-ABIA Bank Annuity Fee Income Report” indicates, however, that annuity income would […]

{October 31st, 2012} by Philip Rousseaux

Part two of a three-part series By Philip Rousseaux October 26, 2012 • The largest, wealthiest, and perhaps most influential body of Americans are currently retiring, and they are doing so in droves. The baby boomer generation, traditionally defined as those who were born between 1946 and 1964, make up the largest portion of […]

{October 31st, 2012} by Sheryl J. Moore

by Sheryl J. Moore Just fifteen years ago, I was hard-pressed to find any information about indexed annuities in the public domain. Nothing was ever found in the newspaper or at the library; not even on that confounded thing they called “the internet.” It was difficult to find any information about the products, a mere […]

{October 31st, 2012} by N/A

Proquest LLC A.M. Best Co.’s rating outlook on the U.S. life insurance and annuity sector remains stable through mid-year 2012, despite the continued pressure of the low interest rate environment on earnings, according to its new briefing. In a release on October 15, A.M. Best noted that the Federal Reserve has indicated that interest […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Brian Anderson

Opinion By Brian Anderson October 26, 2012 With Halloween around the corner, here are five things that scare me about the future of the life insurance industry right now, culled from my ongoing six-part series The Fight for Independents, which examines a variety of threats to the long-dominant independent life insurance distribution channel. 1. […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Brian Anderson

By Brian Anderson October 29, 2012 Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment of a six-part series on threats to the independent life insurance distribution channel, running in each issue of Life Insurance Selling through the remainder of 2012. To read previous installments, use the links below. Part I: Facing up to a graying […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Zachary R. Mider

Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, is seeking a buyer for a U.S. annuities business. Insurance Networking News, October 29, 2012 Zachary R. Mider (Bloomberg) — Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, is seeking a buyer for a U.S. annuities business that may fetch more than $1 billion, said people with knowledge of […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Zachary Tracer

By Zachary Tracer on October 29, 2012 http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-29/low-rates-may-be-devastating-to-annuities-group-says Bond yields will put pressure on sellers of annuities if interest rates remain near record lows, Robert Kerzner, chief executive officer of industry group Limra, said today at a conference. “If long-term rates stay where they are, it would be devastating for our industry,” Kerzner said in […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Rebecca Ng

LONDON – HSBC Life (International) Ltd., a subsidiary of banking group HSBC Holdings plc, said it has agreed to sell its Taiwan branch to Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance Co Ltd., part of German insurer Allianz SE, for US$18 million in cash. The transaction includes the assets and liabilities other than statutory deposits of about US$10 […]

{October 30th, 2012} by Linda Koco

By Linda Koco InsuranceNewsNet CHICAGO – American International Group is looking at ways to introduce proprietary insurance products to its new distribution platform, according to AIG President and CEO Robert Benmosche. That platform is the Woodbury Financial broker-dealer, which AIG has acquired from Hartford Financial Services. Benmosche told of the plans to offer proprietary products […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Miles Weiss

By Miles Weiss on October 22, 2012 http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-22/black-s-apollo-seeks-control-of-athene-to-gain-annuities Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management LLC (APO) is seeking to acquire control of Athene Holding Ltd. as the private-equity firm increasingly turns to the insurance business for assets to invest in high-yield and distressed debt. Apollo, which owns a nonvoting stake in Athene through an affiliate, has […]

{October 29th, 2012} by N/A

Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) October 23, 2012 An analysis of over 1,600 Retirement Reports generated by FreeRetirementReport.com revealed that the average Baby Boomer cannot retire until the age of 75. The survey was based on data provided by users of FreeRetirementReport.com where the Baby Boomer input their information for current income/expenses and future income/expenses. These […]

{October 29th, 2012} by N/A

ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 24– The Minnesota Department of Commerceissued the following news release: Despite the rising cost of retirement, research shows that seventy-five percent of Americans have less than $30,000 in retirement savings. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is urging all Minnesotans to either start or refresh their financial planning for retirement in conjunction […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Linda Koco

CHICAGO – Researchers at LIMRA have uncovered a trillion dollar opportunity in life insurance sales, and it’s in the middle-income households who do not currently own enough life insurance. That’s $1 trillion in face amount that producers and carriers might want to pursue or at least know about, according to Eric Sondergeld, who is one […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Linda Koco

By Linda Koco AnnuityNews Advisors may be surprised to learn that some clients are thinking about their own mortality even as they consider whether to buy annuities with living benefits. Ruark Consulting says it has found that the mortality of people who buy variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits runs about 12 percent lower than […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Craig Brimhall

Help ensure that those your client wants to inherit the account assets are the ones who actually do By Craig Brimhall October 28, 2012 If you ever have spent time helping clients or their heirs work through an estate plan that was botched due to im-proper beneficiary designations on individual retirement accounts and qualified plans, […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Kelley L. Allen

By Kelley L. Allen Posted: October 26, 2012 Sun Life Financial is reportedly looking for a buyer for a U.S. annuities business and is attracting interest from investment firms. Sun Life, Canada’s third-largest largest insurer, could get more than $1 billion for the sale and could select a buyer soon, according to a Bloomberg report. […]

{October 29th, 2012} by N/A

OLDWICK, N.J. – A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and issuer credit ratings of “bbb+” of Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company (Baltimore, MD) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company of New York (Purchase, NY) (together known as FGL). On April 6, 2011, FGL […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Thomas Harman

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is proposing a virtually flat budget for 2013, as it seeks a slight expense increase of less than 1% over the $78.1 million set in the 2012 budget before business and fiscal impact statements are included. The plan contains a 2% increase in revenue to $80.8 million […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Elizabeth Festa

Some regulators are concerned that there was no formal methodology to support the changes made in the assumptions By Elizabeth Festa October 26, 2012 • The NAIC’s Valuation of Securities (VOS) Task Force decided it was good to hope for the best but prepare for the worst when it voted today 11-2, with abstentions to […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Daniel Williams

Opinion By Daniel Williams October 26, 2012 • When advisors are prospecting they need to realize that we no longer live in a world where a cookie-cutter approach will get it done. Not all clients are made alike. It’s clear we have strong diversity in this country and it requires advisors to no longer subscribe […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Sheryl J. Moore

Can we ‘captivate’ our independent agent distribution? By Sheryl J. Moore October 22, 2012 A “dinosaur business.” That is how one life insurance company conducting business via the Internet refers to life and annuity agents that sell face-to-face. I would disagree, since the reference sounds so…negative, offensive, and so wrong. However, they are not […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Adam Cufr

By Adam Cufr October 17, 2012 The transition from paid work to retirement is not without its sleepless nights. Beyond the simple fact of losing one’s daily interactions with co-workers, lunches at the comfy deli down the street and the all-too-familiar commute, retirement brings a whole host of new worries. Recently, a client who […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Maria Wood

“It’s not for the meek.” By Maria Wood October 19, 2012 Market turbulence has made consumers more fearful of their financial future. Consequently, they gravitate more today toward products like annuities, that pledge guarantees. That was one of many themes that were articulated during a recent media luncheon sponsored by Prudential Financial. Click here […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Arthur D. Postal

By Arthur D. Postal October 19, 2012 Prudential Financial on Thursday advanced to the final stage of the government’s process for designation as a non-bank systemically important institution (SIFI), according to several sources. A Treasury spokesperson said that, “The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) does not intend to publicly announce the name of any non-bank […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Anand S. Rao

By Anand S. Rao October 19, 2012 Conventional wisdom is that insurance is sold, not bought. Many people claim that insurance products, especially life insurance, are complex, easily misunderstood, need detailed medical data to be underwritten, and therefore have to be “sold” to customers. Accordingly, the insurance sector has operated over the past two centuries […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Rose Cahill

By Rose Cahill October 19, 2012 Retail is, and has always been, a great harbinger of what’s to come for the insurance market. That’s why I took notice when Jamie Nordstrom, executive vice president of Nordstrom, said these words at the recent Shop.org conference: “Put customers in the driver’s seat, or be dead by […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Fran Matso Lysiak

Fran Lysiak Lee Covington, general counsel and senior vice president for the Insured Retirement Institute, said the number one threat facing the industry today is not interest rates but the tax treatment of annuities.” It’s not the time in our country to hit the middle class again by eliminating or reducing the tax deferred […]

{October 29th, 2012} by N/A

MINNEAPOLIS — Ameriprise Financial Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter net income dropped nearly in half as the company recalculated how much its insurance and annuities were worth. The company also lifted its quarterly dividend 29 percent, to 45 cents, and said it could buy back up to $2 billion worth of its shares through 2014. […]

{October 29th, 2012} by Mary Beth Franklin

But catch-up contribution caps for workers 50 and older remain unchanged By Mary Beth Franklin October 24, 2012 American workers will be able to contribute slightly more to their 401(k)s and other employer-based retirement plans next year, as well as to their Individual Retirement Accounts, the Internal Revenue Service announced this week. The maximum contribution […]

{October 17th, 2012} by Sheryl J. Moore

Ever wonder why someone would want to purchase an indexed annuity while caps hover the 3.00% range? How about why a prospect would choose to “lock” themselves into a product, while the industry faces historical-low interest rates? Join NAFA and Sheryl J. Moore, as the indexed annuity expert discusses why she is about to purchase […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by Jeff Benjamin

Everything advisers have learned about communicating with clients needs to change By Jeff Benjamin October 1, 2012 One of the first things advisers need to understand about working with female clients is that women should be talked to and not at, adviser coach and consultant Elizabeth Jetton said today at the Financial Planning Association’s annual […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by NAFA

September 26, 2012 A study released by LIMRA indicates very high satisfaction levels among buyers of fixed annuities. The survey results reveal that 83 percent of indexed annuity buyers and 86 percent of traditional fixed annuity buyers are satisfied with their deferred annuity purchase. Fixed annuities are financial products provided through insurance companies. Last fall, […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by Partners Advantage

Riverside, CA – October 1, 2012 – Partners Advantage Insurance Services LLC is pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new training platform, the Partners Advantage Academy. This exceptional training platform provides independent insurance professionals working with Partners Advantage the opportunity to participate in an extensive online community where they can access training, continuing […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by Meg Green

Best’s News Service – September 28, 2012 10:34 AM HARTFORD, Conn. – Prudential Financial Inc. will pay $615 million in cash to acquire the individual life insurance business from Hartford Financial Services Inc., the companies said. It’s the last of the planned three sales of Hartford business units since the company announced in March that […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by N/A

Published: October 1, 2012 Updated 17 hours ago GREENVILLE, S.C. — An axiom of military strategy – that no plan survives contact with the enemy – sums up the challenge Americans face as we prepare for retirement. A new product from Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company is among the first to tackle this challenge […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by Joe Weissman

By Joe Weissman Published October 01, 2012 When people start thinking about creating a lifetime income, especially those of you with a 401(k) plan, for example, you really start to appreciate when someone else promises to pay you their benefits. By and large, regardless of what you think about the government or the Social Security […]

{October 2nd, 2012} by Brian Wilson

Three reasons why waiting before investing in FIAs may not be in the client’s best interest. By Brian Wilson October 1, 2012 • Everyone is feeling the pressure of low interest rates these days — consumers, producers, distributors and manufacturers alike. If you’re like me, you are checking treasury rates two to three times a […]